Old Vic to stage Sondheim's Assassins in summer 2027

The Old Vic in London will stage a new production of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's musical Assassins in 2027. WhatsOnStage reported the announcement on 10 November 2026.

Previews begin on 15 June 2027 and the run finishes on 21 August 2027. That is about nine and a half weeks from the first preview to the last performance. Previews are early performances held before the official press night, when a production is still being adjusted and before critics come to see it.

The show is a revival, meaning a new staging of a musical that has been performed before. It is built around people who tried, or succeeded, in killing presidents of the United States. Sondheim and Weidman tell their stories through songs, and the characters are placed together in one setting rather than in a single timeline.

The director is Rupert Goold, who is taking on the production as part of his first season at the Old Vic. A season is the full programme of shows a theatre stages across a year, so this production is one of the first to carry his name at the venue. Chloe Lamford will design the set, which means she will decide how the stage looks and how the space is used.

Bryony Jarvis-Taylor will handle casting. A casting director works with the director to find the actors for each role, running auditions and shaping the list of names that goes forward. The cast has not been part of the announcement so far.

The Old Vic sits on The Cut in Waterloo, close to the Young Vic and the Old Vic Tunnels. It is a registered charity and is best known for staging large-scale productions with a mix of established and newer names. Its new artistic direction under Goold is set to be tested by productions like this one, which are built around a full company of singers and a small, tightly drawn creative team.

For anyone planning ahead, the dates give a clear window. Booking details, prices and a full cast list will come from the theatre itself when they are released.